Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Are you against the Midwest? The Upper Midwest and Great Lakes regions offer fantastic outdoor recreation (lakes 'great' and small), excellent public schools, and affordable housing. It seems like it would be a great fit based on those points.
Chicagoland is one of the best values among global cities. Unfortunately, the taxes here are very high, especially property and sales taxes. Illinois also has well-known fiscal issues that are very daunting, but they have yet to hit public services. Home prices are reasonable, but you are likely to lose money over time because our home values have not historically appreciated enough to outpace inflation and carrying expenses. The other Midwestern states are different, but you should expect slow appreciation across the board.
However, your children will have access to some of the best public education systems in the country. Illinois, Minnesota, Ohio, Michigan, Wisconsin, and North Dakota fund public schools very generously relative to the rest of the country. Public higher education is also excellent, but obviously, BYU is much cheaper.
Chicago O'Hare, Minneapolis-St. Paul, and Metro Detroit are major airports and hubs for the three big carriers serving many international destinations as well as Hawaii and California.
The lakes and beaches here are incredible. People are passionate about the Great Lakes, and Minneapolis, Detroit, and Chicago have smaller lakes in the surrounding suburban areas too.
I generally dislike Florida, and I don't think it represents a good value. Public education is mediocre, and the environment is toxic on multiple levels.
The LDS communities here are small, but they are very vibrant and there is a lot of diversity in practice and outlook.
The housing market has been booming in Metro Detroit. Slow appreciation is really not the issue around here.
The issue is finding a house that meets your needs that's reasonably priced. I've heard the market isn't as bad as when I was looking a few years ago and the market is getting back to "normal". When we bought, you had to make an offer ASAP if you wanted a chance at having the house. If it was a decent house at a decent price, you really couldn't hesitate about making an offer because someone would snag it if you didn't. It was just nuts how fast houses were going on and off the market.
In the end, it really depends on your location. My area is building new subdivisions like crazy. And there's really no end in sight.
However, I agree that I thought it was kind of crazy that OP wasn't looking at the Great Lakes area because we love our water/beaches. The public schools are a lot better here than they are in the South and the LDS has a presence here. And the Lakes!
I tend to think that Florida is over-rated for what it offers. I like the idea of it in the winter when it's super cold here in the winter, but I wouldn't want to live there permanently. A few days in Florida is really enough for me. I love the landscape of Michigan. I like the culture and lifestyle.
One thing I do worry about is the winter. I ve heard that Utah snow is mild compared to much of the country? Is that true because if so, I am in big trouble. I am freezing here!
That's definitely a reason why someplace like Cookeville might work. Winters are much milder than in the Midwest and what you've experienced in Utah. And summers are much more temperate than in Florida. Statistically, the LDS church is stronger in the South than in the North although, of course, not nearly as strong as it in the West. Still, there's a better chance in places like Cookeville (which has a higher percentage of LDS members than most places in the East) that your kids won't be the only LDS members in their schools than if you lived almost anywhere in the North. And while it's true that most Southern areas don't have solid public schools, the ones in Cookeville are excellent, particularly with the intellectually demanding International Baccalaureate Programme at both the middle and high school levels.
---
its - possession
it's - contraction of it is
your - possession
you're - contraction of you are
their - possession
they're - contraction of they are
there - referring to a place
loose - opposite of tight
lose - opposite of win
who's - contraction of who is
whose - possession
alot - NOT A WORD
I would extend this into parts of PA and NY in the region as well.
Ironically, the LDS has pretty big roots in that part of NY, as Hill Cumorah is located east of Rochester in Palmyra: https://www.hillcumorah.org/ That is where Joseph Smith moved to with his family from VT around 1817. So, you could consider an area like Rochester, which does have an International airport and its eastern suburbs(Pittsford, Penfield, Fairport, Webster and Brighton) have very good schools and you are still close to lakeside beaches on Lake Ontario. An example of one is this beach in Rochester's Charlotte neighborhood in the far NW corner of the city: https://www2.monroecounty.gov/parks-ontariobeach.php
Buffalo is another nearby area, about an hour west of Rochester that could be thrown into the mix as well. Same for Cleveland.
There are also 4 congregations in the immediate Rochester area in Irondequoit, Greece, Brighton and NE Rochester. Out of the 4 and given what you've mentioned about yourself OP, I'd say that Brighton would be a good fit. Very good schools with a decent mix of students, is close to some nice parts of Rochester and has close proximity to a congregation. https://rocwiki.org/Brighton https://www.bcsd.org/home https://data.nysed.gov/profile.php?instid=800000033987
One thing I do worry about is the winter. I ve heard that Utah snow is mild compared to much of the country? Is that true because if so, I am in big trouble. I am freezing here!
Utah is snowier than most of the Upper Midwest, but it is significantly warmer throughout the winter. As you probably saw earlier this year, Chicago and Minneapolis were nearly ground to a halt over cold temperatures. At the end of the day, it was really no big deal. People with reliable transportation had a good time on the town, ran errands blissfully, and most just enjoyed staying at home. I am not bothered by the cold. I see it as an opportunity to dress up nicely and enjoy winter festivities. I find it much more tolerable than the heat of say Florida or Arizona. Pay us a visit in the coming months, and I think you will be pleasantly surprised and very pleased.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.